291. Competing with Amazon, Combatting 60% Talent Attrition, and Driving Transformation of Foundational Industries (Dayna Grayson & Rachel Holt)

Dayna Grayson & Rachel Holt of Construct Capital joins Nick to discuss Competing with Amazon, Combatting 60% Talent Attrition, and Driving Transformation of Foundational Industries. In this episode we cover: Can you each give us the two-minute background and path to VC? What is the thesis at Construct? How do you define series A?  Is there a geographic scope in which you'll invest? Why have you chosen to focus on these sectors and categories? How have you seen the current environment issues affect sales cycles and velocity over the past year? How do you deal with inertia, slow sales cycles, and tech aversion amongst these buyer and user groups? Is there any concern that the skills gap will broaden over time? Will capital intensity, timing of financing rounds, timing to exit, size/scale of exits, valuation multiples, etc. look different for a legacy industry portfolio vs. a standard SV SaaS portfolio? Investment philosophy has shifted from being much more decision-maker focus and top-down startups versus more user bottom-up focus solutions. Is that something that's part of your lens or is it case by case, depending on the startup? There seems to be a lot more VCs/Investors focused in these spaces, so why the need for Construct in this market where so much capital is flowing? What was it like pitching this narrative in the thesis? You raised your inaugural fund during the pandemic — what did you learn from that experience? There are two different philosophies on firm building. One approach is more of an independent/individual sport, the other a team sport. Which do you employ? If one of you wants to do the deal and the other thinks it's not a good way to deploy capital, what happens in that circumstance? How do you think about scaling your efforts and getting more leverage out of your time? What's the post-investment relationship with the founders look like at Construct? What do you know, you need to get better at? What's the best way for listeners to connect with each of you and follow along with Construct? Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter. The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran, General Partner of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in the exceptions. To learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our Website and LinkedIn and be sure to follow us on Twitter. Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and tell us about your business. We’ll send a list of possible investors right to your email’s InBox!